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Rakabin Arabi (Bedouin Camelry)
Cheap to recruit and well-adapted to life in the harsh environments of their homelands, these mobile and hardy camel riders are arguably among the most effective troops available for warfare in the desert. Description We've traversed the deserts by camel since the dawn of our people, as it is suicide to wander our barren, unforgiving lands without them. Our earliest forefathers tamed these beasts and only then risked life here. It is a harsh life, but one guaranteed to be free from foreign and tyrannical rule. As such, every man owns at least one camel or is given one by their tribe or kin and has ridden them from an early age. Some are even said to have never left their camel's back. Compared to the horse, the dromedary is much more at ease in the desert and can often go without water for two weeks. The Greeks call them δρομάς κάμηλος or 'running camel' and its speed and stamina as such should not be underestimated. Considering the animal also provides hair for clothing and tents, leather, meat and nutritious milk, it provides any desert army with a significant logistical bonus, while easily outmanoeuvring any foe. While they may not be good for charges or melee, they make for great transport to and from the battle, as well as stable, high and swift archer platforms ideal for any desert skirmish or ambush. Finally, they also seem to unnerve the horses of our settled foes and thus help us counter their heavier cavalry somewhat. The men mounted on these beasts might not be the wealthiest, nor the most experienced of combatants and thus carry only light weaponry and no armour. The benefits of these riders and their mounts therefore easily outweigh their low cost in the eyes of any competent commander. Historically the dromedary was domesticated at the latest by 1200 BC and was instrumental for creating both the Bedouin lifestyle as well as the spice and incense routes in ancient pre-Islamic Arabia. Due to its prevalence and obvious benefits in desert warfare, the camel quickly found itself on the battlefield and present in large numbers as well. One such example is the battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, which not only featured an unprecedented number of combatants, but also a 1000 camel warriors lead by a certain king Gindibu 'the Arab'. In these early days the camels were unsaddled and were often mounted by two men seated back-to-back. When the camel saddle made its introduction and camel riding became easier and more comfortable, they became even more prominent and the number of riders was reduced from two to one per beast. The effectiveness of the camel archer was perhaps most aptly demonstrated at Gedara where the Nabataean king Obodas would defeat and almost kill the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus, as he ambushed the latter with his camels in 96 BC. Their tactical worth was also seen by the Hellenes and the Romans. Antiochus III for one also deployed effective camel archers amongst his horse archer troops at the battle of Magnesia, as both Appian and Livius recount. Arab camel riders finally also featured as auxiliary units called dromedarii in the armies of the latter. Category:Units Category:Units available only in EB2 Category:Arabian Units Category:Saba Category:Nabatu